125 TEBELOPELE EMPLOYEES LOSE JOBS

All Tebelopele Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centres(VCTs) were this week closed down for an extensive restructuring process that has so far resulted in125 job losses.

The 16 VCTs under the partnership of Botswana and United States of America, (BOTUSA) will be shut down for the next two weeks.
Speaking in an interview, Tebelopele Marketing and Communications Co-ordinator,Nothando Mwelase said, “It is true that all our centres are not open for business as usual.

We are going through what is known as a transition, and the purpose for this is to tidy up and wind up all activities before starting on our new funding. In other words its purely for administrative purposes. We want to give all staff members their dues and cross check our inventory.”

Commenting on the 125 lost jobs, Mwelase said,“Staff from top to bottom have been affected.We have however managed to secure new funding from the phase two of the USA President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, (PEPFAR ) which will enable Tebelopele to continue with its operations.”

The new funding however comes with new conditions from donors who want more value for their money, Mwelase explained.
“ The details of PEPFAR II will be announced when we resume business early next month,” she said
Tebelopele voluntary counseling and testing centres have been in existence for the past seven years. They employ hundreds of people and cater to over a 100 000 people in a year across the country.